Chocolatiers raising prices on sweet treats

Brooklyn, New York (CBS) -- They say money can't buy happiness, but it can buy chocolate. Now many chocoholics will have to shell out a little more cash for their sweet treats.

For Daniel Sklaar, it gets harder every day to spin his passion into profit. The Brooklyn-based chocolate manufacturer makes artisan treats using cocoa beans from all over the world. But the price of cocoa has gone up 45 percent since 2013 and the small business owner says he has to raise prices.

"We're looking at a roughly 8 to 10 percent increase," he says.

Chocolate giant, Hershey, recently announced its raising the price of its products eight percent. And Mars, the maker of M&M's and Snickers is pushing prices about seven percent. This is the first time in about three years Mars and Hershey have raised its prices.

"It's likely that you will see prices rise across the board from all the major chocolatiers," says Joe Deaux, an Economics analyst for TheStreet.

The price of cocoa has gone up because there's less of it. Bad weather and political tensions in cocoa-producing countries have led to lower yields for farmers. Another factor contributing to the rising cost of cocoa is demand. The appetite for chocolate is growing worldwide.

Many chocolate lovers say shelling out more for an occasional chocolate treat is well worth it.

"We're chocolate fiends, so we don't care how much it is, how much it costs," says chocolate lover Kate Socci.